Vote!

Rating:
Summary: Really Good Book about Voting!
Review: I was so impressed at how easy and enjoyable this book was to read. It's about time someone wrote a good children's book about voting. Most books about voting are dry, dull and totally detached. This book provides a likable protaganist and takes us through the voting and election process. Students of mine who have read non-fiction books on voting and been left totally confused as well as bored may finally "get it" with this one. Good job!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Appearances of Bias
Review: While I like the way the information is presented with the humor of the dogs along with the explanations, I have several problems with this book. #1 I disagree with presenting one candidate in a good light (Chris Smith who is portrayed to care about schools, and has her child campaigning for her, aka "liberals are compassionate"), and the other as a villian (Bill Brown, whose platform is portrayed to be based on building a new stadium, a cold businessman who doesn't like animals or care about children, aka "the non-compassionate conservative"). This nice candidate/mean candidate portrayal is a poor way to teach childen voting discernment. #2 At the end of the book, there is "A Timeline of Voting Rights". Again, this is a great idea- laying out these important dates to understand more easily. However, I find the comments regarding the 2000 Presidential Election troubling. The author carefully implies that the 2000 Presidential Election was bogus, and the 2002 voting act will take care of faulty elections in the future. I believe this book would've been much more effective had the author NOT brought biases into play.